


Take My Hand (Take a Breath)

by kaIeido



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Ash Lynx Lives, Ash Lynx and Okumura Eiji Go to Japan, Christmas, Fluff, Humor, Ice Skating, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28465698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaIeido/pseuds/kaIeido
Summary: It's almost Christmas, and Eiji suggests they go ice-skating - a tradition to him, but an activity completely alien to Ash.Well. It can't be that hard, right?
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji
Comments: 11
Kudos: 67





	Take My Hand (Take a Breath)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sheenapple](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheenapple/gifts).



> this fic is for rimi's asheiji secret santa! happy new year everyone, here's to a better 2021!

Ash shivers, despite the scarf around his neck.

And his thick coat.

...And the three pairs on socks on his feet.

Damn it all.

A puff of white leaves his mouth as he groans in frustration - how long do they have to wait for?

"I think I forgot to ask," Eiji, seemingly unaffected by the cold (save for his flushed nose), looks up at Ash. "Have you ever been ice skating before?"

"Once or twice," He says, despite the fact he's never skated in his life. Not that he'd ever hear the end of it, if he did tell the truth - either out of concern or the cheeky jabs Eiji likes to make towards Ash when he has the chance. 

"Not as much as you have, though." That part was true, at least. 

Eiji had been gushing over the activity when he'd first proposed the idea to Ash not too long ago. It's a tradition, apparently, that he takes his younger sister every year, but with her studying abroad for her second year of university, it made things a little more difficult. Laments of _she's getting so old already, Ash, time flies, doesn't it?_ were woven in between pleas of _please, you can layer up, it won't be that cold!_

And who was he, to say no to a face like that?

So here they are, lining up in a queue that's... actually moving, now, with Eiji prodding him to make him shuffle along, too. 

"My sister promised she'd find an ice rink while she's out there." He looks towards the ice, rubbing his hands together. "Though I'm not sure she'll be able to find a good one..."

"Why's that?" Ash asks, willing the people in front of them to hurry it up just a _little_! 

"Most rinks are just plastic with a little ice on top, aren't they?" Eiji says. "But this one- we always go here, because it's real ice, which makes it easier to skate on."

The couple in front of them finally enter the small shack, where the tickets are bought. Ash almost sighs when they do, too - _finally, some sort of protection from this cold_ \- his relief quickly dampened upon realising that it seems _colder_ inside.

When will he catch a break?

As the people in front collect their skates from another employee, the clerk managing the desk smiles at the two of them.

" _How long would you like?_ " He asks _._

" _One hour_." Eiji pauses before turning to Ash, switching back to English reflexively, despite him being able to understand the language damn decently. "Is an hour-long enough?"

An hour seems more than enough, if he's honest. "Sounds good."

"Great!" Eiji beams in excitement for what's to come, and Ash's heart would've melted at the sight - if it wasn't so cold.

The clerk rings them up, before gesturing towards the second employee. " _If you'd see yourself over there, she'll fit you with the right sized skates_."

The young woman greets them with a well-mannered smile, asking for their shoe sizes.

" _One twenty-four centimetre pair-_ " He holds up one finger- " _And one twenty-seven centimetre pair_ -" -Then the second. " _Please._ "

The clerk complies with a nod of her head, handing over the skates and motioning to her right. Soon to be skaters dot the benches here and there, going through the ordeal of lacing up their boots. They make their way over, and Ash wrinkles his nose when he notices the damp on the seats.

Eiji recounts past visits to the rink as he tightens the laces on his boots with surprising ferocity, Ash would've thought he'd been trying to cut off his circulation. They don't need to be that tight, right?

"-So she'd decided she's had enough, and decided to lie in the middle of the rink, it was awfully embarrassing-" With a final wiggle of his feet, Eiji stands. "-but it's quite difficult, trying to pick someone up when you're both wearing skates, so there's not much I could do-" He turns to Ash, scanning him up and down in a quick rain check. There's a small frown on his face. 

"Ash. Those don't look nearly tight enough."

Ash takes a glance at his skates as if the issue Eiji's seeing will reveal itself to him. "They feel fine."

"Hm." Eiji crosses his arms, unconvinced. "Try moving your feet around."

Sighing, he still complies, and Eiji's displeasure only grows. 

"See? You have plenty of room near the top. If you don't lace them up like you should, they'll hurt your ankles, won't they?"

Ash nods, like he knew this to begin with, and bends down to re-lace the skates. He does his best to work around his thick gloves that seem like they're trying their best to inconvenience him. Blessing the cold, for once, that numbs his feet enough so he doesn't have to feel much of this new tightness, he stands up to join Eiji. 

"That's better!" He nods in approval this time, offering a hand towards Ash. "Should we get going?"

"No point in wasting the time we have," Ash replies, because apparently an hour at an ice rink is damn expensive, compared to what an hour at an ice rink _should_ cost in his humble opinion.

All sorts mill around the exit, either entering or leaving the rink respectively. Excited children clamour, small hands reaching for a ground of plastic penguins, a little worn and paint peeling. They grin with a certain air that'd look like pain on a human, which Ash suspects has something to do with the bars stuck onto the sides of their heads. The mat under their feet is damp (why is everything so _damp_ ) and strewn with bits of wet leaf. Ash stumbles over one of the ribs in the rug.

"Are you alright?" Eiji asks, his hand taking part in saving Ash from fully planting his face into the floor.

"I'm fine." Ash brushes of his mild concern with a wave of his hand.

What a great way to start. Not even on the ice yet, and he's almost slipped onto his ass.

They're met with a blast of fresh air as they step outside, and Ash is reminded of times where he wasn't cold, of home and functioning central heating.

Well. At least Eiji's here - the best part of being home. Minus the warmth. 

The two entrances onto the rink split the bumbling crowd into two, a few on each side queuing patiently as friends shakily help each other onto the ice, and move aside as a mother carries her crying child off of it. Christmas lights glow softly as they adorn the barriers of the ice rink, setting the mood for the winter season.

"Alright." Eiji prepares himself when it comes for their turn. A white puff of air leaves his mouth as he grins excitedly. Not a moment later, he steps onto the ice and effortlessly pushes himself out of the way. "Oh, wow, that was easier than I expected! I always think I've forgotten how to skate, with a year between it all. But maybe it's like riding a bike?"

And Ash can only nod, because he'd had trouble getting to the damn rink, how was he supposed to do something like that?

"Ash?" Eiji steals a glance at the few people behind him, then holds out a hand. "Come on."

"I'm coming." He puts a foot onto the rink - it can't be that difficult, Eiji's just done it, and he always praises Ash on his ability to learn so quickly, surely this must be the same? A second foot is on the ice, and he hasn't fallen over. _Nothing to it, really_ , he thinks before attempting to move as Eiji did.

Keyword _attempt_ , as he slips forward, hands scrambling for support and just grabbing the barrier. Again, he's saved some face by not landing flat, with wet hands and knees.

Perhaps today isn't the best day to wear jeans.

"Ash!" Eiji exclaims, his voice shaking with- is that _laughter_? One of Ash's hands is pried from the barrier as Eiji pulls him into an upright position. Now he has a better look at his face - there's a small smirk pressed across his mouth, shoulders shaking. "What was... are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He moves forward a little - surely now he's gotten used to the feel of the ice - but that only serves to slip him up once again. 

"Ash..." Eiji skates closer, grabbing his hand tighter. "It really must've been a while since you've last been skating, right?" He pauses, that little grin on his face. "Unless you've never been skating before."

If only it's as easy as it seems. "Shorter lent me his roller-skates once, for a laugh." Rollerskating is just ice-skating without the ice, as far as Ash is concerned. It's the same premise - extra movement tacked onto boots, right?

"That's not-" Eiji giggles into his hand, finally having lost all the willpower to hold back his laughter. "-It's not the same."

Ash pretends to look more annoyed than he actually is as Eiji continues to laugh.

"It's fine if you haven't, really." He holds out a hand, which Ash warily eyes - the barrier looks like the better option right now, seeming as it has less chance of collapsing into a fit of giggles. "I'll show you. You'll pick it up in no time, I promise."

"Fine." Slowly, surely, he accepts Eiji's outstretched hand, legs shaking like a newborn fawn. He's pulled forward, further onto the ice, and he starts to reconsider his current predicament.

"That's it! Steady..." It's only then that Ash notices Eiji is skating _backwards_. And here he is, barely able to walk across the ice without falling over. They're sticking close to the barrier, with the other, more experienced skaters flying past in a gust a wind that never fails to make him stumble. Ash can't help the urge of staring constantly down at his skates; the way Eiji's move so swiftly and smoothly make his elderly shuffles look even more laughable.

"Are you sure you don't want one of those penguins? I can always go back and get one for you."

 _The penguins? What- Ah. The plastic ones,_ He realises. _The ones that the kids were all over_.

He looks up at Eiji, eyes narrowed, and realises the teasing grin is back on his face.

"I'm good, thanks. I've got you as my shitty plastic penguin."

"Hey!" Eiji pouts. "Do you really want to be saying those sorts of things when I'm the only one keeping you upright?"

Ash considers this for a moment - considers the fact that, being the little shit he sometimes is, Eiji very well might carry through with the unspoken warning. He holds on a little tighter.

"Okay - first things first, you need to lean forward a little." Despite saying this, Eiji pushes him backwards ever so gently. "Not to that extent, though."

"Not my fault I have to bend down to catch hold of you," Ash quips.

"It _is_ your fault - if you knew how to skate, we wouldn't be in this situation!" There's a notable smile behind Eiji's pout, even as he tries his best to look annoyed. "Now, if you'll let me speak without jumping in with your annoying little comments - you need to lean forward a little, so if you fall you won't go backwards."

"Right," Ash says as he leans forward hesitantly. It doesn't help him feel any more stable. "What now?"

"Next is the motion of the feet." Eiji lets go of one of Ash's hands to skate to his side. He stumbles, almost grabs the railing, almost falls, but doesn't - which, hey, is better than before. "You need to push your feet forwards and out, see?" Eiji demonstrates the movement on one foot, staying stationary with the other. Swivelling himself back in front of Ash, he takes his hand again. 

"Here, we can try going around the rink." Eiji meets his eyes; a reassuring smile, a squeeze of his hands. "I'll hold tight so you don't fall."

Ash nods, and slowly but surely they start making their way around the rink. His small steps are a far cry from Eiji's graceful movements, but apparently he's doing great, hands held tighter every time he stumbles. It's not that he's afraid of falling, per se; the immediate consequence of sodden clothing when he's already freezing his ass off is what makes him so adamant to stay on his feet.

When he makes it around the rink without stumbling once, Eiji congratulates him with a beam that reaches from flushed ear to ear.

"Well done!" Eiji squeezes his hands yet again. "I said you'd get the hang of it quickly, and you did!"

Ash is sure that Buddy could've done better than he did, but the praise still makes him smile. He leans down to press a small kiss against Eiji's forehead-

And the movement makes him stumble forward; Eiji, unprepared for the impact, topples like a domino, arms flailing as he tries to grab onto anything sturdy. He's unlucky, and both of them land on the ice with an unceremonious _thud_.

Damn. Ash is _really_ regretting the jeans, now. 

Passers-by gracefully skate past them, politely ignoring their current predicament.

"Ugh," Ash groans as he kneels, a stark contrast to Eiji's giggling. He'd made fun of his Michelin Man looking jacket before they'd left, rightfully so, but it looks like the choice had paid off - it's waterproof and ridiculously padded. As if to laugh in his face a little more, Eiji gets off of the floor as if he simply were on land, while Ash struggles up with the rink's barrier.

Eiji eyes his dampened form and resists the urge to laugh. 

"Since the hour is almost up-" He presses a gloved hand to his mouth quickly, before continuing- "Do you want to step out of the rink? There's a nearby cafe that does really nice hot chocolate."

Ash can't agree quick enough, the promise of warmth making the process of taking off their skates seem slow and arduous.

* * *

_Ah, finally_.

The heat radiating from Ash's mug warms his frozen fingers, and the cafe, while just as busy as the ice rink, emits a calmer, quieter scene. He stares down as his drink - what had once been a sweet cocoa pattern in the shape of a snowflake was now mixed into the liquid, creating a swirled pattern. With Ash's hands unfortunately occupied, his leg is intertwined with Eiji's (dry, warm) one underneath the table. He sighs, content, nose and cheeks flushed from warmth this time.

"Did..." Eiji tilts his head a little. "...you enjoy that? Even after falling over?"

Ash reflects on the freezing cold, Eiji's Rudolph the Reindeer impression, clinging onto the side of the rink for dear life, Eiji patiently teaching him the basics, getting damp on what could be a below-freezing night like tonight, and Eiji laughing, hand pressed to his mouth (at his expense).

"Yeah." He bumps his head gently against Eiji's. "Of course I did."

**Author's Note:**

> nothing like some good vibes to kickstart the new year
> 
> i hope you enjoyed reading :)


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